Discussions with Will and Northernflame have prompted me to do a "controlled test" with my Radius 43B Petrol.

So here goes -

The time does not include time taken to fill the tank with petrol or put the water and ground coffee in the percolator. The water was taken from the cold tap, and was around 2 litres, or 9 cups.

So having the coffee ready to go on the stove, I went out on the front veranda, where there was a bit of a breeze, and started my stopwatch.

Time - 0:00(Min/Sec - I dropped the hundredths, too controlled.) I filled the priming cup with metho and lit it. The stove was cold, and there was still fuel in it from the last time I used it.

4:30 - The meths is all gone and the burner is lit. I give the tank about 10 or so pumps to bring up the pressure.

5:00 - The flame has evened out, and the tank is up to pressure, so I set on the coffee pot, and turn it wide open.



15:00 - The water is boiling, and has started cycling through the percolator, so I turn it back a bit.

16:00 - Turn the burner back to a high simmer to keep the water boiling.

24:30 - The coffee is smelling good, and is brewed enough, I turn the burner off.

26:30 - The coffee is ready to pour.



So there you have the results from a highly scientific test. So from the time I thought about making a cup of coffee to having a cup of coffee was a rather pleasant half-hour, not sure about the "boils water in 2 minutes" line.

I do not know how much fuel it used, that is a highly complicated test procedure for which I have neither the equipment nor the patience for!!!!! HA!!!!!

The fuel capacity to my eye would not be much more than a cup or 250ml, if you leave bit of room for air, I never fill it to the brim.

As for physical size, closed, it measures about 140mm X 190mm X 100mm, open, about 140mm X 380mm X 90mm, for those who use more vintage measurement units, 5 1/2" X 7 1/2" X 4" closed, or 5 1/2" X 15" X 3 1/2" open. Weight, measured on my precisely calibrated scale, 'not much'!!!

There you are gentlemen and ladies, everything you need to know to make an informed decision on whether to purchase a Radius 43B Petrol Stove.

You are probably wondering why I made 9 cups of coffee for myself, well, that is the standard amount of coffee I make when I am cooking for friends, and I was curious to see how long it actually took to make it. This should give you an idea about how the stove operates in the 'real world'.

P. Lynn Miller
http://members.optusnet.com.au/lynnmiller/index.html

Oh no, my sin has been exposed for the whole world to see, in the background of the top photo is a lpg tank and stove, plain and clear. Oh no, I am doomed!!!

Well yes I've made up my mind,

I will have a cup of coffee thanks!

Seriously though it's using petrol in a camp stove bothers me more than their comparitive efficiency.

No doubt the Radius is a good stove and I frankly admire anyone who can drink 9 cups of coffee.

So I looked at the pictures before seeing who was the contributor and thought: that looks like an Aussie verandah...
A trip to Teralba (western side of Lake Macquarie just north of Toronto NSW) and found a $20 Companion double burner side tank and a Companion roarer for $7.
LKL

9 cups of coffee.

Reminds me of an "I AM Canadian" TV commercial.

Some one's going to be jumpy..

27 mins for 9 cups is quite good. Also is your measure is real coffee cup size? If you've noticed that most electric coffer makers 1 cup is almost always 1/2 the size of the coffe cups used today. Normaly a cup is 8 Oz, however most coffe cups these days are perhaps 10+ oz. electric coffe maker decanters seem to use the old british (no offense)afternoon tea cup size or the capuchino cup size as a standard cup size.

I also noticed that you used a ceramic coated coffee pot.

Depending on who you talk to ceramic is a terrible heat conduictor, then again your coffe purculator is insulated therefore it compensates.

The 43b definitly sounds like a good buy.

I like the 43b's compact design as well as it's burner and heat shielding as well as a well though out pot support/rack.

It reminds me of the old turn touring alcohol stoves.

Again excelent posting !!

Thanks for the chat.

yt

Northernflame

Hi Folks
This is, of course, absolute heresy on a stove site, but we use a Kelly Kettle to boil water when camping - much faster than our Coleman 424. 2.5 pints of water in 5 minutes - fuel consumption - bit of paper and a few handfuls of twigs!
Mike (waiting for approach of Topic Police!)

I often use a Kelly kettle as well- the big one that boils 2.5 pints.

Your time for boiling doesn't include running round in the rain looking for sticks does it? Carrying sticks and paper inside of it is cheating!

I used to just use a newspaper but one day we noticed lumps of still burning paper floating out of the top of it. Just the thing in Tollymore forset park!

American and Canadian (family) guests love it especially the kids who I usually get to run round gathering fuel - but honestly it's big, bulky, heavy, and to an extent dirty. BUT I don't know of any way to boil 2 + pints any quicker.

An American living in Australia, I often have people very apprehensively ask me if I am Canadian. When I say, "No", they quickly reply, "I thought you were an American , but did not want to offend you in case I was wrong and you were a Canadian." I laughing reply, "No problems, I do not mind being called a Canadian." Then they say, "Really, Canadians get really upset when you ask them if they are Americans, don't understand why?" My standard answer, "Don't worry, it is just a small identity crisis."

OK, OK, I will stop picking on the Canucks, since I was almost a Canadian myself, and many of my best friends are Canadians. Actually, my best friend is from Peterborough, Ontario. Now if you know anything about canoes, that should ring some bells. Gosh, that is gorgeous country, the lakes, the pike and muskies, canoes, glaciers. I am getting homesick again.

Back to the subject at hand, my coffee percolator is Corning Ware, when you live far from home, you collect stuff that takes you back. As for size, it handily holds 1.75+ litres of water, or 2 quart, I measured it.

As for my coffee cup size, well, out of a full percolator, I get about 5 or 6, so lets say 12 or so ounces. A big cup.

I did not do this test to see how fast I could make coffee, but rather how long it took me. I did not rush it, I included in the time setting up the stove, taking the lid off of the vodka bottle(hey, those little glass bottles make great metho containers), filling the priming cup, putting the lid back on the bottle, getting out the matches and putting them away, I just went through my little ritual and that is how long it takes me to produce a cup of coffee or 9.

I am very happy with the design, yesterday(Sunday), we went to the Royal National Park just south of Sydney, and had a picnic on a bluff overlooking a small bay with beach. It was quite windy, enough to keep blowing the blanket off the table, I had a little trouble with the burner underburning, till it got hot and then it worked like a charm, boiled potatoes, sausages, carameled bananas, coffee and tea for five. All on less than one tank of fuel.

This affliction with camp stoves, has had one very good side effect, we have done more camping and picnicing in the last 3 weeks, than we did in the year before. My boys are loving it.

P. Lynn Miller
http://members.optusnet.com.au/lynnmiller/index.html

What is a kelly kettle? Is this something like the Sierra Zip Stove? The sierra zip stove has a small battery operated fan that blows air into a chamber into which you place twigs, etc... These have been around, at least in the US, for at least 25 years or so. I've never used one, but a well known, local canoe guide uses them as a backup and claims they work great.

Whoa! take it easy.

I was refering to a tv Canadian commercial about coffee.

I was not refering to you as a Canadain what so ever.

Sheeeeeeeeeesh!

The tv commercial was about having a good time on thurdsay night which made a comment for next friday morning "two words" "Caf-feen" showing a guy in an office instead of pouring a cup of coffee the guy takes ther entire full pot of coffee pours half the box of cream into the pot and drinks the entire pot of coffee. "some one's going to be jumpy" was the punch line.


Though it kind of make me feel unwanted.

any how.

Enjoy.

(raise a cup of coffee in toasting 43b's excelent coffee).

That's me. My dad was born in Ladner, BC. My grandad was Vancouvrian, and met an American girl in Point Roberts in 1919. Those of you who know your Canadian-American cartography will know that Point Roberts is a little bit of the US of A in Canada, so to speak, that the mapmakers forgot about when they dropped from the 49th parallel down around Vancouver Island.
They speak strangely up there, eh?

Northernflame;

Did you get my E-mail that I sent to Ross?

P. Lynn Miller
http://members.optusnet.com.au/lynnmiller/index.html

Radius43b.

Yes I did get the letter (just did).

There is absolutly no need to edit your post.

I'm not offended, only a bit miffed.

It's best just to forget about the entier thing. I have.

yt

Northernflame

I have two reletives who live at Point Roberts. They operated a commercial fishing boat out of Cordova, Alaska, until about ten years ago. I like Point Roberts but not the hassels i have to go through to get there. Being retired military and having had top of the line clearances, its a pain in the bazoooo. If you don't know what they are, forget i said anything.

lance

I recently got my hands on a Radius 43 kerosene stove and it has quickly become a little of a favourite of mine. Anyhow, how much water was it you boiled, 1.75 litre? Could perhaps be interesting to make a comparison with your petrol version.

Leif…

It is a hassle to get to Point Roberts; cross into Canada at Blaine, drive 25 miles and through Tsawassen, then another border crossing into PR, then back again.
As you next go there, look to your right on the Point Roberts road that leads south in Tsawassen to the border. A mile or so from the line you'll see Winskill Park and Winskill Aquatic Center; that was the site of my great-uncle Christopher's farm.
His brother, my grandfather, failed at farming in the Delta in the mid-1920s, came to the US and went into the oil heating business. He and my grandma always said that was the best thing that ever happened to them.
Christopher, on the other hand, was successful at potato farming. But it meant that they worked hard, physically, most of their lives. When they were up there in years, the municipality bought their farm for the park and pool. So they had enough dough to travel the world, etc. before they died. We always felt good about that.
When I read about Baggsy's canning, I think how tough that farm life can be. Many stories....

Lief,

The percolator holds 2 quarts or about 1.75 litres. Have you seen the pictures on the web of my 43B? It has an unusual burner set-up from any other 43 that I have seen so far.

P. Lynn Miller
http://members.optusnet.com.au/lynnmiller/index.html

Being a Cannuck and owning a Kelly KEttle !

Well, that's me!

I'm just happy to have another utensil in which I can make a good cup of brew in the wilderness.

Although, I find it hard to keep going with wet materials....

It took me almost 5 minutes to warm up the stove and then another 10 minutes before the 1.75 litres was boiling furiously. So it seems the petrol and kerosene versions of the stove aren’t that far apart. (But then of course I used a completely different pot to cook in so the comparison is not really valid.)

Leif...